Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Altered Destinations
- 1 Self, Society and Nation: Indian Notions of Responsibility
- 2 1857: The Religious Roots of Indian Anti-Imperialism
- 3 Indian Alternations: Aurobindo, Ambedkar and After
- 4 Interrogating Indian Post-Nationalism: Culture, Citizenship and Global Futures
- 5 Hindi Hain Hum: An Account of a Vibhashi's Romance with the National Language
- 6 The Case for Sanskrit as India's National Language
- 7 National Education? Problems and Prospects
- 8 Regaining the Indian Eye
- 9 Secularism vs. Hindu Nationalism: Interrogating the Terms of the Debate
- 10 Plurality, Tolerance and Religious Conflict in India
- 11 Towards a Common Future? An Indo-Pakistani Story
- 12 The Availability of Mahatma Gandhi: Towards a Neo-Gandhian Praxis
- Notes
- Works Cited
5 - Hindi Hain Hum: An Account of a Vibhashi's Romance with the National Language
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Altered Destinations
- 1 Self, Society and Nation: Indian Notions of Responsibility
- 2 1857: The Religious Roots of Indian Anti-Imperialism
- 3 Indian Alternations: Aurobindo, Ambedkar and After
- 4 Interrogating Indian Post-Nationalism: Culture, Citizenship and Global Futures
- 5 Hindi Hain Hum: An Account of a Vibhashi's Romance with the National Language
- 6 The Case for Sanskrit as India's National Language
- 7 National Education? Problems and Prospects
- 8 Regaining the Indian Eye
- 9 Secularism vs. Hindu Nationalism: Interrogating the Terms of the Debate
- 10 Plurality, Tolerance and Religious Conflict in India
- 11 Towards a Common Future? An Indo-Pakistani Story
- 12 The Availability of Mahatma Gandhi: Towards a Neo-Gandhian Praxis
- Notes
- Works Cited
Summary
If the first part of this book looked mostly at political and historical aspects of the Indian nation, the second part concentrates on the linguistic, cultural and educational facets. This chapter is concerned with Hindi, while the one that follows it, with Sanskrit. I wish to examine how both these languages helped to form and underwrite the ‘Indianness’ of India.
Speaking of Hindi, I should have been writing this chapter in Hindi. Not just this one, but several others—and perhaps, poems, stories, book reviews, too. Many years ago, in a fit of joyous exuberance, I actually wrote several pages of my daily journal in Hindi. It happened after the language suddenly sprung to life in my inner being—at least partially.
I was doing a Pre-University Course at the Madras Christian College. My second language option was Hindi. We had two teachers, Dr P. K. Balasubramaniam and Dr Ravindra Nath Singh. I remember both of them very well. The latter, a young man then, had a PhD from Allahabad. I assumed that he was from the North, but was told that he was actually from Tamil Nadu, where they also had ‘Singh’ as a surname. How little I knew about India, let alone Tamil Nadu. The senior teacher's initials, ‘PK’ led to the usual jokes. PK or peeke means (having) drunk. When terribly enthused, he did look a bit inebriated, though he was a teetotaler.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Altered DestinationsSelf, Society, and Nation in India, pp. 79 - 90Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2009